Agri initiative brings hope to Kitson Town small farmer

Kitson Town small farmer Azania Francis is eagerly anticipating the roll-out a Food and Agriculture Organization-backed initiative in her community, which, among other things, aims to reduce rural poverty through the provision of skills training and innovative agriculture solutions.

Francis, a 38-year-old small farmer, was among several persons who gathered at the Jamaica Pegasus in Kingston on Tuesday for the launch of the programme, dubbed Improving Rural Livelihoods through Resilient Agrifood Systems (IRLTRAS). The initiative is set to benefit 150 persons in Kitson Town. Francis, who has been farming for 12 years, hopes to be among them.

As a single mother, she currently tends to chickens and pigs, while cultivating crops on a limited scale to provide for herself and her eight-year-old daughter. She has expressed optimism that this new project would significantly boost her income.

"If I get this opportunity now, I can do much more to provide for myself and for my daughter," said Francis.

Despite her love for farming, Francis has been unable to sufficiently provide for her small household with the income she currently earns.

"You raise the chicken, but to get them sell is a challenge because persons will come and they'll take yuh stuff, and they hold it fi all two, three weeks, a month. So it's a challenge," she said.

The IRLTRAS will incorporate agricultural solutions, including solar-powered drip irrigation systems, greenhouse farming, soilless cultivation methods such as hydroponics and aeroponics, water harvesting and storage facilities, and a solar-powered facility for drying and packaging. The initiative is funded by the government of India at a cost of $152 millions and is being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Agriculture Minister Floyd Green said that the project is "really about ensuring that our farmers have a better life". He said that women and youth will comprise 20 per cent of the beneficiaries.